Winning Ways - from Hillcrest Baptist Church, Austin, Texas  Contact Tom Goodman, Pastor
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Hillcrest Church Office
October 6, 2004

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Here is this week's WINNING WAYS . . . .


“When is a Mountaintop Just a Foothill?”
by Tom Goodman

A recent Sharper Image catalog advertised a “Personal Life Clock” with digital numbers that flashed the number of hours, minutes, and seconds remaining in a person’s “statistical life-time.”  Here’s the catalog’s pitch:  “All lives are finite.  In fact, the average life lasts only 683,280 hours.  This new Timisis Personal Life Clock reminds you to live life to the fullest by displaying the most profound number you will ever see.”  Now if Sharper Image would offer us something really useful: a gadget that would tell us how to live life to the fullest.

What on earth are we here for?

Actually, there’s an answer to that question.  It’s not found in a cool gadget but in Scripture, and this week hundreds of folks at Hillcrest started a spiritual growth campaign to get God’s answer to the purpose of life.

What a tremendous campaign launch this past Sunday!  After “Forty Hours of Prayer,” our non-stop prayer vigil, 317 adults connected to a small group in our MPC.  We actually ran out of study guides!  We’ll have more printed by this Sunday, but that’s a great problem to have!  In addition, 170 children and youth were in attendance on Sunday, and 4 home groups were launched in area neighborhoods with 22 attending.  All total, 509 were in Bible study groups the first week of the campaign.

Then, over 300 gathered Sunday night for the simulcast of the worship service led by Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose-Driven Life.

Still, as powerful as the weekend was, it was just the start!  By the time you get this newsletter, we’ll only be at Day Four of our campaign, with 36 more days to go.  Thirty-six more days of insights from your daily readings . . . six more weeks of deeper fellowship with your small group . . . seven more weeks of inspiration from worshipping God together.

This past weekend may have felt like a “mountaintop experience,” but we’re still in the foothills!  The mountaintop of this campaign is yet to come!

If you missed this past Sunday, it’s not too late to get your book and connect with a small group.  Show up at the lobby of the Worship Center at 9:15 a.m. this Sunday, October 10, and greeters will get you to where you need to be.  Also, you will really benefit from the “40 Days of E-mails” from our Campaign Team.  The e-mails will give you the “nudge” you need to stay active in the campaign.  Go to Click here to sign up.

See you this Sunday!

—Tom


This Week at Hillcrest:

Staff Congratulations:  Dale Linam, Patty Bailey, and Patsy Vasquez all have service anniversaries this week (and Patty has a birthday!).  So, when you see them, let them know you appreciate their work at our church!
Ministry Fair Meeting:  Part of the Purpose-Driven Life Campaign includes a Ministry Fair.  We held a Ministry Fair every year in the last church I served, so I know you will like this event.  If you lead a ministry in this church, or if you’re part of a mission that this church supports, make sure your area gets included in the Fair!  Our first meeting to organize the fair is this Sunday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m.  If you have questions, contact me at tom@hbcaustin.org or the Ministry Fair Director, Michele Roberts, at mroberts9@austin.rr.com.
New Chapter:  I’ve added a new chapter to The Anchor Course at www.anchorcourse.blogspot.com.  Reading these chapters will help you explain the faith, and forwarding these chapters to your seeking friends will help them explore the faith.


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